I.

Explosive Entry


Katsuki Bakugou was angry.

That in itself wasn't anything new, a lot of things did a good job of ticking him off on a daily basis after all. It was just that this time, the cause of his anger wasn't the group of extras from his class or that damn nerd Deku. No, this time Katsuki was simply angry with himself.

He had failed.

Just the thought of it irked him to no end. Katsuki hated failure, doubly so when it was failure that could be attributed to himself. Deku wouldn't have let that villain tag him with that weird teleporting quirk. Now, whether Deku would've been able to dodge out of the way or not was irrelevant at this point, because in his mind, Deku had succeeded in his Hero work study while he had failed with his, and that pissed him off beyond belief.

Deku was not better than him.

Or so he'd like to think, but so far the facts said otherwise. While Deku had succeeded in taking down a big time villain in Overhaul during his work study, here he was, taken out of commission by some damn shitty extra with a trigger happy teleportation quirk. It was just like during their hero license exams… Deku had succeeded where he had failed and it drove him insane.

And the most aggravating part of it all was that this time, he couldn't do anything about it.

Katsuki was stuck.

He was stranded in some strange place where everything was different and he didn't even have the slightest clue on how to get back home. Forget his surroundings, even the goddamn moon looked different. Rather than the round sphere that he was used to seeing, the moon looked like a shell of its former self, as if a piece of it had been blasted off by some crazy villain or something.

The last couple of hours had been mind-numbingly dull, as he could only wait until Best Jeanist managed to get that shitty extra to teleport him back with his quirk or something.

He had wandered around a bit at first, exploring the area in the meantime. Before he had bothered to look up into the sky, Katsuki had thought that he had been teleported to some city in America. The people around him spoke English after all, and since he wasn't an idiot like Kirishima who had almost failed his English class, it wasn't too hard for him to ask around for directions. Although with the answers and strange looks that he had received in return, he almost wished that he hadn't even bothered trying.

Names like Atlas and Remnant meant nothing to him after all.

It didn't really click for him until he saw that damn moon in the sky. That was when he realized how screwed he really was. He didn't just get teleported to a different country, he got teleported to a completely different world. He wasn't even sure if that was possible, but unless what he was seeing right now was all an illusion, it was definitely possible now. All that meant for him however, was that he would have to wait for someone else to save him. And at this point, just the thought of that made him want to explode.

"DAMN IT!"

He didn't scream at anyone in particular(maybe Deku), but it served as a good way to let out some of the frustration that had been bothering him as of late. Some people that walked by started whispering to themselves as they avoided the street corner that he was standing on completely. Katsuki didn't particularly care about what a bunch of extras thought about him, but the constant looks they sent his way was starting to piss him off, so he just started sending glares right back at them.

That got people to stop staring real quick.

From what little he had seen of the city so far, Atlas was a strange place. Tall high-rises dominated most of the streets while a thick blanket of snow covered over most of the smaller buildings. It was a good thing that he had been wearing his winter costume or he might've frozen to death by now. He had always hated the cold, even before he had awakened to his quirk. Now he just had a practical reason to hate it as well.

If Best Jeanist didn't hurry up, Katsuki was starting to think that he actually would freeze to death at this point.

Another cold wind whizzed by and he couldn't help but let out an involuntary shiver this time. He needed to get his body moving, work up a bit of a sweat to warm up. He stuffed his glove covered hands into his pockets and began to walk down the street. He hadn't been relying on his gauntlets as much as had used to, and had opted for simple flame resistant gloves instead. It forced him to have to rely on his quirk more, which in turn helped him develop it further, almost as if he were training it.

Any kind of training to get stronger and surpass Deku was fine in his book.

For a brief moment, in the back of his mind, he couldn't help but wonder, what if he could never get back home? What if it had been a one way trip? If Best Jeanist couldn't find a way to bring him back?

He quickly squashed that thought underneath the heels of his steel-toed boots as he continued walking down the street.

A real hero didn't lose, he knew that much for a fact. As big of a clown that Best Jeanist might've been, the man's body of work as a hero spoke for itself. Katsuki was sure that Best Jeanist, and even the rest of the heroes including All-Might, if it came to that, would find a way to bring him back eventually, just like they had when the League of Villains had managed to capture him.

Although, that thought just in itself already soured his mood.

How sad was it that he needed to be saved thrice now. First that sludge villain, and then that whole incident with the League of Villains, and now this... While Deku was out there reaching new heights, he was always busy playing the goddamn damsel-in-distress. It was infuriating. Just how many times was he going to need to be saved?!

Katsuki clenched his fist and resisted the urge to blast something with his quirk.

And then the sounds of a nearby explosion shook him out of his thoughts. Gunshots and screams lit up the air, and for just the briefest moment, he froze as his brain tried to process the sudden intake of new information. Katsuki blinked once, before he blasted off towards the direction of the screams with his quirk in a hurry.

Even if he was in a completely different world, he was still a goddamn hero. And he just knew that Deku would've rushed off to play the part of the hero in the same situation. There was no way he was going to let Deku beat him in anything again.

Not if he could help it.


It was just another day for Weiss Schnee, the heiress to the Schnee corporation.

She had her breakfast prepared by some of the best chefs in Atlas early in the morning, with her tutoring session following not too long after. And then in the afternoon, she had lunch with her father and the rest of her family, where they discussed trivial things ranging from the recent politics to the weather. Her singing recital was later in the day and she performed her role dutifully, as expected of a Schnee. Despite all of her success however, even at only thirteen years old, her father of course did not even bother to pretend to be impressed, merely 'satisfied' that she had played her role correctly to the masses.

That of the perfect daughter to the perfect little 'family' image that her father liked to portray so very often for good publicity.

Yes, it was just another dull day in Weiss Schnee's life as the heiress to the most powerful company in the world. That was why it surprised her how things could have gone so very wrong in a blink of an eye.

She could still vividly recall Anastasia, one of her father's secretaries that had been assigned to watch over her for the day, holding open the door to the limousine for her. She could still remember all of the paparazzi that were surrounding her vehicle as usual, snapping whatever pictures of her they could manage to take. She could still recall the sudden sound of gunfire and the hail of bullets following not too far behind.

Anastasia had taken a shot to the back of the head right in front of her. The sight of the secretary's blood spilling out like a fountain of water horrified her. She had been so shocked at the grizzly scene that she hadn't even noticed the masked men that had snuck up behind her amidst the chaos.

And now, here she was, still very much in a daze, tied up and blindfolded inside of a van with a bunch of scary masked men that without a doubt, had ill intentions. She had always known that being kidnapped was a possibility for someone born to as much wealth as she was. She just never assumed that anyone would have the audacity to attempt to kidnap her of all people, not with how powerful the Schnee Dust Company was.

Did her kidnappers truly think they would be able to get away with kidnapping the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company? When her father had connections to some of the most powerful and influential huntsmen in Atlas? When he had the Atlas military itself indebted to him? Now that she had finally gotten over the initial shock of the absurdity of the situation, she couldn't help but wonder just who exactly these people were and who they were connected to that had the gall to blatantly attack the Schnee Dust Company like this.

The van eventually came to a stop, and then, as if she were a sack of potatoes, someone carried her off over their shoulder. As if that weren't humiliating enough in itself, she could hear the jaded insults and snide comments in the background. Who were these people that she had apparently wronged so much that they possessed enough hatred to launch such a brazen attack out in public just to kidnap her?

She wouldn't get her answer until a few hours later when they removed the blindfold from her eyes. Even in spite of their masks, as soon as the vision returned to her eyes, she knew just exactly why these people hated her so much. The red emblem of a Faunus that they all donned, while a bit different from the blue one the activists wore, she would still recognize it anywhere.

They were Faunus.

And they were members of the White Fang, a ragtag group of social activists that had been turning towards terrorism as of late.

She held about as much love for them as they did for her.

Weiss had heard her father complaining about the White Fang, of how they had started to move on from simple protests to directly attacking Schnee Dust Company factories and supply lines. Her eyes narrowed at the group of three masked men that stood in the corner of the room, whispering to one another in a hushed tone just low enough for her to not be able to hear. They were nothing more than cutthroats and knaves in her eyes.

Eventually, the door to the room slammed open and a hulking, menacing figure marched in with all the grace of an elephant. The mask that he wore was different from the rest of the men, his had far more intricate designs detailing all across the frame. Whoever he was, it was obvious to her that the man in front of her was the one in charge around here.

"Lee, get the camera ready." The voice came out in a rasp, "It's time for the little Schnee princess to have her world debut."

Weiss didn't miss the underlying meaning in his tone as the man unsheathed a dangerous looking knife all the while. She didn't realize it until now, but they weren't going to just ransom her off, no these savages wanted to execute her and broadcast it to the world! All of a sudden, the fears that she had been doing her best to hide underneath her facade began to spill out. She started to struggle against her restraints, trying her best to free her arms to no avail.

"Sorry girl, but if you want to blame someone, then blame your father for forcing our hand."

One of the masked men held her in place while their leader slowly walked forward with the knife in hand. There was a slight rumble outside that gave everyone in the room a moment's pause. Another small rumble shook the building, but after another couple of seconds of silence, the masked men focused their attention back towards the task at hand. Weiss could feel some of her hopes die inside of her after that.

Was nobody going to stop this madness?

"Let this serve as a message that the White Fang and its brethren are not to be trifled with."

Weiss could see the camera recording as the masked man stood behind her with the knife dangerously close to her jugular vein. She had only unlocked her Aura a few months ago, so it was still pretty weak, and at this range, it wouldn't take much for it to shatter. She struggled against her restraints even harder, but she simply didn't have the strength to break free.

"The Schnee Dust Company had time and time again to cease in their blatant abuse of our people." The masked man rasped. "Well, no more. We take our vengeance for our fallen brethren right here and now!"

She wanted to scream but the gag in her mouth turned whatever words she tried to air out into mere muffles. It was a hopeless endeavor. The knife touched her skin, and her Aura flared for a moment as she felt the man push the knife deeper. Her Aura shattered away not too long later and the knife dug into her skin just enough to draw a faint line of blood.

And then, as if her hopes were finally answered, the door to the room blew open in an explosion.

The metal hinges all but blasted apart as the metal door barreled forward, slamming straight into the back of one of the masked men that had been standing in the way. Smoke and soot filled the air as a steel-toed boot stepped forward with a menacing thud. A boy with a maniacal look in his eyes and a smile that did not promise good intentions strode in with a confidence well beyond his years.

"I finally found you bastards!"


Jake Brown pushed the pedal down hard.

His car wasn't the most expensive thing, but it still got the job done when he needed to get somewhere fast. And with the chance of getting a piece of what was going to be the one of biggest news stories in recent years? He'd risk getting a speeding ticket for that any day of the week.

One of his sources at the Atlas police department had given the tip, and he was going to be one of the first photographers there no matter what.

The White Fang's brazen attack in downtown Atlas? The young Schnee heiress getting kidnapped? Jake could already smell the royalties rolling in if he managed to snap a couple of good photos of the scene. This might end up being the biggest job in his entire career if he played his cards right.

And thanks to the tip his buddy over at the Atlas P.D. had given him, he'd be one of the first boots there on the scene without a doubt.

His tires screeched as he turned the corner and gunned it down the road towards the warehouse district that the police had managed to locate the White Fang at. Tensions with the Schnee Dust Company and the White Fang had been growing for a while now, so everyone had expected something to happen, but such a brazen attack like this one was beyond most people's expectations. He didn't think that there had been an attack as big as this one since way back during the Faunus Rights Revolution.

All that meant for him however, was that he was definitely going to get paid after tonight.

Another couple of narrow turns later and he found himself hitting the brakes. A couple of Atlas P.D. patrol cars were already on the scene and lined up the streets surrounding one of the warehouses that was letting out a good deal of smoke from its windows. The area had been sealed off, and it seemed that they were simply content on waiting until a huntsmen team arrived before storming the building. One of the many huntsmen teams on Jacques's payroll more than likely.

It was a classic hostage situation from Jake's eyes and judging from how things looked, he had made it just in time.

He tried to get as close as possible to the building, but the police officers that were on site blocked him off. It was annoying, but he supposed that he would have to just settle for a long distance shot of the scene. He snapped a couple of photos of the building and the ongoing situation from afar.

A bullhead soon arrived not too long later with a team of huntsmen that looked like they were from the Atlas military. Jake wasn't sure who they were, but he could tell that they were probably pretty important judging from their uniforms. It didn't surprise him that Jacques Schnee had that kind of sway with the Atlas military, since the Schnee Dust Company was one of the main suppliers of Dust for them after all. He snapped a couple more photos of them and watched on from afar as they seemed to be getting briefed on the situation by the police officers on site.

He had some decent shots so far, but nothing really substantial yet, nothing that would land his photo on the front page of the Atlas Times like he had been hoping.

And then, as if one of the gods above had heard him, the walls of the warehouse blew open with a huge explosion. For a brief second, he was tempted to run, but he fought against that instinct and instead got his camera ready. Weapons were drawn and orders were getting screamed out as the smoke began to clear, but all Jake could do was keep his camera lens focused on the sight in front of him.

Amongst the smoke and rubble emerged a dark, masked figure with a very visible scowl on his face. If Jake had to comment, he would say that the guy looked like he came straight out of the newest issue of X-Ray and Vav. And what an image of a hero he made, with the young Schnee heiress in his arms as he walked out of the ruined building.

Jake couldn't help but let out a breath as he snapped the photo.

This was the one.

The shot really was like a panel straight out of a comic book, and the people of Atlas ate it up. That damn photo was on the cover of every newspaper and magazine in the city the very next day. He actually had the picture framed, sitting on his desk, even to this very day. It was the moment that had catapulted his career into what it was today after all, and the day that everyone in Atlas became aware of their city's very own superhero.

Yeah, he couldn't have written it any better himself, even if he had tried.

Life could be so very strange like that sometimes.


Authors notes- I just wanted to read some Kacchan stories. There weren't enough though, so I wrote my own. For some background information, this takes place four years before the start of RWBY. Also with a Kacchan after the U.A. Cultural Festival Arc, so you know, he's less of a prick lol.